P' 










Class— 
Book- 



-x o f^ 



Cr ^^ 






THE 



VOICE OF THE LORD: 

A SERMON PREACHED IN 

CHRIST CHUECH, GEORGETOWN, D. C 

ON THE SUNDAY AFTER THE LATE MELANCHOLY 

CATASTROPHE ON BOARD THE U. S, 

STEAM SHIP PRINCETON 



BY THE 



REV STEPHEN G^G A S S A W A Y 



RECTOR OF THE CHURCH 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



WASHINGTON: 

ALEXANDER AND BARNARD, PRINTERS 

1844. 



-^.i 



/ 



THE 



VOICE OF THE LORD: 



A SERMON PREACHED IN 



CHRIST CHURCH, GEORGETOWN, D. C. 

ilL 

ON THE SUNDAY AFTER THE LATE BIELANCHOLY 

CATASTROPHE OX BOARD THE U. S, 

STEAM SHIP PRINCETON. 



BY THE 



REV. STEPHEN G. G A S S .V W A Y , 



RECTOE OF THE CHURCH 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 



WASHING! 

.KLE.\.\. -N" D E R .\ N D BARNARD. TRIXTERS. 



I 



3^6 



'•^2-^ 



III compliance witli a request signed by the members of the Vestry and 
other members of the congregation to which he ministers, the author has 
been induced to permit the publication of this discourse. It was, of neces- 
sity, hastily prepared, and preached for the most part extemporaneously, 
and of course without any view to publication. In endeavoring, at the 
request of those whose judgment he respects, and for whom he feels so 
much affection, to recall it and reduce it to writing for the press, he has 
tried to adhere faithfully to the language and expressions employed in its 
delivery. He trusts that this may help to excuse the deficiencies in its 
style, and its rather diffusive length. He will only add that a part omit- 
ted in the delivery, has been inserted, in the hope that as it may be seen 
by some who were not present when it was preached, it may, by God's 
blessing, do good In a wider circle than it could otherwise have reached. 
That it may be so much honored of God, as to be made instrumental in 
impressing His sacred truth savingly upon even one heart, is the highest 
ambition, the most exalted wish which the author cherishes, in giving his 
unpretending effort to the world. 

Georoetow.n, D. C, March, 1844. 



SERMON. 



" Be still, and know that I am God." — Psalm 46 : 10. 

The topic on which we must speak to you this morning, 
beloved brethren, seems too clearly and emphatically indi- 
cated, to be passed by. God opens before us two sources 
of knowledge of Himself and His will, the events of His 
Providence, the word of His Grace. Emanating from the 
same author, these two volumes are coincident in their 
teachings, and often, when read side by side, throw light 
each upon the other. And therefore, the minister of God, 
who desires to be wise in winning souls and faithful in de- 
claring God's whole counsel, while he draws the truths he 
proclaims chiefly, as he is bound, from the revealed Word, 
will yet fix an observant eye upon the other and study its 
intimations. Thus full often will he gather lessons ot sacred 
wisdom to impart to those who hear him, or learn what 
truths of Holy Writ, rather than others, should be dwelt 
upon. In so doing he will be following the example of his 
Divine Master, whose instructions were usually based upon 
passing events, and adapted to the circumstances in which 
his hearers were at the moment. 

But there are periods when this course, always the min- 
ister's privilege, becomes his high and imperious duty. 
There are events which cannot be passed by in silence. 
There are events which force themselves upon the atten- 
tion of all, events so solemn, so marked, so impressive, that 
they arrest the most careless and unreflecting, impress the 
most frivolous and the most hardened, and compel the most 
unthinking and unbelieving to acknowledge the hand of the 
Almighty. 

In such circumstances we are at this moment placed. 
The awful catastrophe of last week, which has been so 



much in all our mindSj and so saddened all our hearts, is an 
event of this class. Whether we consider its sudden and 
terrible character, the amount of suffering and death it has 
caused, the elevated stations of those whom it has swept 
awav, or the wonderful Providential circumstances connect- 
ed with it ; whether we look at it in its national, social, or 
individual bearings, it has unprecedented claims to our 
thoughtful, solemn attention. It is an event which comes 
home to us no less than to others. We are interested in it 
— as citizens of this nation, whose government has been so 
sorely stricken ; as connected with yonder city, which it 
has clothed in mourning; — as members of this congrega- 
tion, of which, one honored family, in desolation and an- 
guish, is mourning a fondly cherished member, and another 
in silent awe and trembling thankfulness is rejoicing that its 
head and earthly stay, with others who are among us as 
guests and sojourners, was snatched as by miracle from the 
very jaws of death. 

Thus pressing itself upon our attention it would be wrong, 
if it were possible, to let this solemn event pass by us un- 
improved and unnoticed. We were " like the brutes that 
perish " could we do so. Were it only that we might 
comply with the inspired precept, and "rejoice with those 
who do rejoice and weep with those who weep,-- it would 
claim, at least, passing notice. 

But we have higher duties in connexion with it than 
even this. " When thy judgments are in the earth,"' saith 
the prophet, '^ the inhabitants of the world will learn right- 
eousness." That they may do so, are they sent, and it is 
our privilege to use them for the purpose. To endeavor to 
draw from the present occurrence its high instruction, is 
our present aim. 

We are aware of the danger in our way. Our Blessed 
Savior cautions us against certain inferences which many are 
too apt to draw from like awful events. " Those eighteen," 
said lie on a similar occasion, '" those eighteen on whom the 
tower in Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they 
were sinners above all the men that dwell at Jerusalem.'^ I 
tell you nay ; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise 
perish.'' We are not permitted to draw any conclusion as 
to the character or deservings of those who fall in such a 
calamitv. Bui we are bound to consider such events as 



warnings to the living, and to draw sucli inferences from 
them as concern ourselves, and are calculated to lead us in 
the ways of righteousness. And such is the light in which 
w^e view the event before us. It is the voice of the Lord 
to the living. We seem to hear him speaking in it to the 
nation, to the votaries of pleasure and power, to those im- 
mediately concerned in the accident, to ourselves, in tones 
of mingled sternness and tenderness, " Be still, and know 
that I am GOD.'' 

1. But are we correct in the assumption with which we 
set out, that this hath been a special act of God, — that 
His hand hath been in it, — and that therefore it is to be 
considered a special admonition from Him ? We cannot 
doubt it for a moment. Undoubtedly natural causes were 
at work. The ordinary laws of matter were in full and 
uncontrolled operation, and in obedience to them, was the 
engine of death burst asunder, and its massive fragments 
hurled abroad with such destructive violence. The ordi- 
nary laws of mind were also in operation, working out their 
accustomed results. The natural pride of the gallant offi- 
cer who commanded that noble vessel, and after whose 
suggestions, that tremendous weapon had been construct- 
ed, the natural desire, which as a courteous host, he felt to 
afford his distinguished guests every opportunity of grati- 
fying their curiosity ; the natural desire which these latter 
felt ''to see for themselves, the truth of the wondrous 
things which they had heard of the vessel and her novel 
armament, the sense of duty which impelled some of those 
in official stations to test the value of those new improve- 
ments thoroughly — these all were at work, as in every 
similar case they might be, and it was in obedience to 
them, that the little group were gathered on the fated spot 
where destruction awaited them. Yet God was there. — 
These were but the ministers of His will, and through them 
He was working out His own mighty and inscrutable de- 



signs 



Such must be our view of the event, if we regard it in 
the light of Holv Writ. There we are told that God is 
the governor as well as the Creator of this world ; that He 
orders every particular event which occurs, as vyell as the 
general movement, and the 2:rand results in this world's 
historv. The Scriptures tell us that He not only " doeth 



6 

according to liis will in the army ot Heaven.*^ but "among 
the inhabitants of the earth " also : — that '' His Kinerdom 
ruleth over all," — that while He '' measiireth the Heavens 
with a span/' and '* bringeth out their host by number and 
calleth them by their names/' guiding the planets in their 
rapid ilight, He at the same time numbereth " the very 
hairs of our head/'' and suffereth not even the sparrow to 
fall to the ground without Him. " I kill and I make alive ; 
I wound and I heal." " I form the lisrht and create dark- 
ness ; I make peace and create evil : I the Lord do all these 
things." And if this be so in ordinary affairs, how much 
more in great ones, affecting the happiness and welfare of 
nations. " Shall there be evil in the city and the Lord 
hath not done it." "It is He that sitteth upon the circle 
of the earth, and the inhabitants are as grasshoppers ; that 
stretcheth out the Heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth 
them out as a tent to dwell in ; that brin2:etli Princes to 
nothing ; He makelh the judges of the earth as vanity." 

My brethren. Holy Scripture is full of the like declara- 
tions, declarations which fully authorize, nay, which com- 
pel the conclusion that the hand of God was specially in this 
thing. And it is a conclusion which the many wonderful 
Providences connected with the event, serve very deeply 
to impress upon our minds. It is the Lord who hath 
spoken. Let us in humble submission contemplate his 
^' strange work." And believing that He doeth nothing 
in vain, let us ponder the mysterious characters of blood 
and flame, and the dread accents of thunder and of wailing, 
in which His solemn message is conveyed. 

2. It is " the voice of the Lord " to this whole people. 
The Highest hath spoken to this nation, as a nation. To 
it, in its collective capacity is the word of this admonition 
sent. 

This we gather from every circumstance connected with 
the calamity. We read it in the ollicial station of the suf- 
ferers. Had these men, whose loss we so deeply deplore, 
been all merely jirivate individuals, then, however, high 
their standing in worth or fame, this awful dispensation had 
been only of private interpretation, its lessons only of in- 
dividual application. But when we remember that two of 
them were olliccrs of (he iz;eneral government, holding ex- 
ecutive stations of an importance only second to the high- 



est; when we remember lliat but for ;in all but miraculous 
interposition, even the President and at least another high 
executive oilicer had also fallen : — when we remember that 
it occurred on board a national vessel, and that the instru- 
ment which struck the fatal blow, had been forged for na- 
tional defence ; — we cannot but regard the event as having 
a national bearing. In these circumstances, we discover, 
as it were, the superscription, easily read and not to be 
mistaken, which points out the destination of the Heavenly 
admonition. 

God judges nations here. They have no hereafter to 
which the just rewards of their conduct can be postponed. 
But here, in the present dispensation of his Providence, he 
deals out to them the righteous retributions, the rewards 
and the punishments which their good or evil demands at 
His hand. When ^Svith rebukes" he would "chasten 
them for sin," He accomplishes his designs, either by 
sending general distress among the whole people, or by 
smiting their rulers. In both these ways has He chasten- 
ed us. For years, as we all so well know, general disaster 
and depression have been among us, which seemed to palsy 
our energies and eat out our wealth. Now His hand is fall- 
ing upon the heads of the nation, and '^ taking them away 
in his wrath." It is not the first time that He hath done 
so. Within the last three years, how many holding the 
highest official stations, have been suddenly called from 
their posts of honor and of usefulness, to render up their 
account. Plarrison, Macomb, Legare, — a President, a com- 
mander-in-chief, an Attorney General and Acting Secreta- 
ry of State, — an extraordinarily largenumber of both Houses 
of Congress, — ^these have been the shining marks upon 
W'hich the bolts have fallen in that brief space. And now 
we are called to mourn the vacancy of two most important 
stations in the Cabinet, — a Secretary of State, snatched 
away at an hour when his country most needed his servi- 
ces, a Secretary of the Navy, called from his post of duty, 
ere the bright anticipation of his usefulness so sanguinely 
entertained by his friends, and by him who placed him 
there, were realized. 

And what is the lesson which these severe chastisements 
are to teach.? Dull indeed were our minds, brethren, 
blind indeed our stupidity if we could not read it. Look 



where the levin-bolt hath alij^hted, and see lor what we are 
chastened. We have been stricken in those things in re- 
spect to which we most sinned. We have become an 
idolatrous people. True, we have not by public act, dis- 
owned Jehovah, and set up carved images and bowed down 
before them. But we have given our souls up to '^ covetous- 
ness, which is idolatry." The inordinate thirst for wealth 
has been the all absorbing feeling of the nation's heart : — how 
to get, and increase riches, the all absorbing thought in the 
nation's mind. Beside this, all other things have seemed 
to dwindle to insignificance. By this, have all the agita- 
tion and change and revolution which have lately shaken 
our country from centre to circumference, been aroused. — 
By their bearings upon this, have all the great political 
questions of the day been decided. Is a great measure 
proposed, none asks is it just.'^Jsit right .'^ is it such as 
w^ill meet God's approval .? but — what are its bearings on 
the wealth of the country.'' will it enable us to get rich fast- 
er? Never was there a nation more idolatrous of money 
than ourselves. And there hath God smitten us. Our 
plans have been frustrated; panic and distrust have walked 
abroad in the land ; our commercial energies have been 
paralysed; our credit abroad has been destroyed; our do- 
mestic industry gone without its reward. And the fortunes 
wdiich it had been a life-long labor to accumulate, have 
melted away like frost work in the sun. 

W^e ha\e become forgetful of God. Once we recognized 
Him as the King and Ruler of nations. When our fathers 
asserted our national independence, they appealed to Him 
as the Supreme Ruler of the universe, for the rectitude of 
their intentions. Through the long struggle of the revolu- 
tion, they acknowledged Him as the God of battles; they 
humbled themselves before Him in their adversity, and re- 
joiced unto Him in their successes. The foundations of 
our constitution were laid amid prayer to Him, for guidance 
and blessing. And for a time it was administered with a 
regard to His will, and His approval. But alas I other 
views at length prevailed ; another spirit leavened the pub- 
lic mind. VVe have become mjhlel in politics. We have 
thought to carry on our government safely and prosperous- 
ly, to secure the nation's happiness and welfare without 
Him. And we have forgotten His laws, the laws which 



9 

He prescribed lo naiions as well as individuals. We have 
oppressed the weak, who dwelt securely by us. We have 
defrauded the strong whom we could not and dared not op- 
press. Violence hath been heard in our land, and gone 
unchecked and unrebuked. Yea, even our Senators and 
Legislators, the very law-makers lor the nation, have coun- 
tenanced, have themselves indulged in, resort to violence 
and bloodshed. Impurity and licentiousness are fearfully 
rife in the land : — even in yonder Capitol and among men, 
from whose stations and whose talents, the country had 
a right to look for examples of moi-ality and purity. We 
have desecrated God's Sabbaths. They have been violated 
both by authority, and by men in official stations needlessly 
encroaching on its hallowed hours for the transaction of 
official business. And for these things God hath visited 
us in iudo;mcnt. 

But above all, God, as the ruler of men, and the source 
of national prosperity, has been entirely forgotten by us. 
We have forgotten that obedience to His will alone exalteth 
a nation, that transgression of His laws is a disgrace to any 
people. We have looked to men for our political salvation. 
We have trusted in their integrity and financial skill and 
statesmanship, as our refuge and defence. So was it, when 
three years ago the revered and lamented Harrison was 
called by the voice of so large a portion of his fellow citi- 
zens to the highest office in their gift. W^th what idola- 
trous confidence did many regard him. How did the 
whole people look to him as the source whence was to 
come their help. How did the eyes of the nation turn to 
him as to the pole-star of their safety. How did their 
eager ears wait to catch the accents that should fall from his 
lips, as the oracles which solve the vexed problem, and 
point out the path of renewed prosperity. But God took 
him. A little month of office barely rolled by, and before 
any of these hopes could be fulliled, he was called to give 
up the account of his stewardship. He died, it may be, at 
a period most fortunate for himself, for to him, even in his 
felicitous position, '- to die was gain." But it was a heavy 
and sore rebuke for the country, a grievous chastisement. 

But we have in no wise profited by the lesson. We 
are at this very moment manifesting the same spirit of blind 
confidence in men. Negociations with another mighty na- 
tion of the earthy of great importance to us. had just begun. 



10 

If conducted ably and skilUully, they might result m im- 
mense advantages to us. If unsuccessful they might termi- 
nate in all the horrors of war. For the former result the 
nation was looking, and depending on the wisdom and skill 
of him who should conduct those negociations on our part. 
In case of the latter result, so much to be dreaded and de- 
plored, oh how generally was reliance built upon those im- 
provements in naval warfare, of which that gallant vessel 
was the lirst example, to be the right arm of our defence. 
And where, in all the reference that was made to these, was 
any allusion to the existence of a God, who holdeth the 
hearts of rulers in his hand, and who giveth the victory not 
always to the strong, but defendeth the right? And God 
hath shown us how '^^ vain is the help of man.-' The able 
negociator is no more, the head of our navies sleeps beside 
him ; and the novel engine of death, instead of dealing de- 
struction to our foes has swept away our defenders. 

But above all are we not just about plunging once more 
into all the violence and turmoil of party strife ? Already 
do we behold on every hand the mustering of the political 
clans for the battle. Already the various watch-words, and 
fierce war cries of the discordant factions come to our ears 
on every breeze. Again are men ranging themselves around 
their chosen leaders, bowing before them as the idols of 
their trust, and looking to them, and no higher than to them, 
for a restoration of prosperity. Such a blind confidence is 
felt and expressed in these men. hopes for good results are 
so entirely and exclusively fixed on their success, to the en- 
tire losing sight of the fact that they can but be at best the 
instruments in (iocPs hands for good, that the lan^aiaiie ad- 
dressed by all the great political parlies to their favorite 
leaders, is in spirit, if not in word, the same as that of Israel 
of old to their idols,'' Save us, for yc arc our gods! " 

Amid all this wild confusion and uproar, the Lord hath 
lifted up his voice, '^ Yea, and that a mighty voice.'' How 
solemn and impressive the lesson which he has just taught 
us. To all this storm, and strife, and madness, he has utter- 
ed the command, '' Be still.-' To our j^^ople thus begin- 
ning to be tossed and fretted to fury in this most disastrous 
civil strife, he has said, " Be still ! '' "Be still, and know 
that I am God." " Know that I rule among the nations of 
the earth : I kill and I make alive, I exalt and I cast 



II 

vlown. Nations liang upon mo, as individuals do. When 
I frown upon them they wither and decline, and vain are 
the statesman's skill, and the warrior's mi,i<ht. When I 
smile upon them they prosper and flourish, and only then. 
Cease ye from man whose hreath is in his nostrils ; for 
wherein is he to be accounted of? Cursed is he that trust- 
eth in man, and maketh flesh his aim. For all flesh is grass, 
and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field ; the 
grass withereth, the flower fadeth, when the breath of the 
Lord bloweth upon it. Surely the people is grass. It is 
better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence in 
man, yea, it is better to trust in the Lord than to put any 
confidence in princes. Man fleeth like a shadow, and never 
continueth in one stay. I the Lord faint not, neither am 
weary. The word of the Lord endureth forever. Here 
then is a firm and everlasting foundation on which ye may 
build, broad and high the superstructure of national pros- 
perity. Take the sure and tried principles of my Word 
ibr your political guidance. Obey them. Do justly, love 
mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Turn unto me 
with all your heart, and repent of your iniquities. Make 
you a clean heart and a right spirit, and put away from you 
all your abominations. Then shall ye once more be my peo- 
ple and I will once more be your God. Then shall pros- 
perity attend you. Then shall ye be safe from all storms 
which shall assail you from abroad, and from all commotions 
and evils which may arise at home. The Eternal God shall 
be your refuge, and underneath you the Everlasting Arms. 
Then who shall belike thee, nation saved of the Lord." 

Such seems the purport of the solemn admonition which 
the country has received. Oh I that it might enter into our 
ears and sink down into our hearts. Oh ! that he would 
send His Gracious Spirit with it, as the tidings are carried 
on every breeze, and cause it to graven upon the hearts of 
our people. And oh, that they might be moved to consider 
this, to remember and turn unto God, and endeavor to dis- 
charge their duties as citizens, in His fear. 

3. But it is not alone for our country, that this calamity 
has a voice. In it God hath also spoken, to the gay world, 
the lovers of pleasure, the aspirants for power and place. 
Its application to that portion of society cannot escape no- 
tice, or be mistaken. It was in the verv midst of such the bolt 



12 

fell. Its devastations were among those who ride upon the 
topmost wave of pleasure, among those who were most 
successful in clim.bing to the high places of the earth. All 
the circumstances combine to render it a fearfully impres- 
sive lesson to the giddy thousands, who in hot pursuit of 
those painted and gilded bubbles, earthly pleasure and 
earthly renown, foi'get their God and their immortal souls. 

The night before the sad event, the windows of the Presi- 
dent's Mansion gleamed with light. Within its halls was 
gathered the gaiety and the talent, the wit and beauty, the 
grace and loveliness of the Capital. And amid the iestive 
throng moved in the pride of manly strength and in the 
fulness of health, some of those we this day mourn; gay 
as the gayest there, and as full of life and buoyant hope. 

The very expedition on which the catastrophe occurred, 
was, as you know, a party of pleasure. And the light heart- 
edness of many was increased by the prospect of many more 
such scenes of enjoyment. All hearts on board that won- 
drous vessel, were light and gay. Smiles sat on every face. 
The banquet and the song, the sportive jest and merry 
laugh were the occupations of the hour. All was mirth 
and joyousness, and it may be, many a heart there, seemed 
to realize, as the moments speeded by, the beautiful thought 
of the poet, that 

"Time himself in fiittirifj by. 

Made music with liis wings." 

No care, no thoughtfulness was there to mar the genial 
spirit of the hour. Cod was forgotten. Death was un- 
thought of, judgment was undreamed of, eternity was far 
away from their minds. Had any spoken of such topics, 
how strange and repulsive and out of place had it seemed. 
Away with such gloomy thoughts! what business have they 
here at such an hour : 

But ah ! in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, death 
came into their midst on wings of fire — unbidden, but im- 
portunate guest, sudden and unlooked for, as lightning 
from a cloudless sky — and away to judgment — away to 
eternity, hath he hurried the goodliest and gayest there. — 
In that brief moment, — briefer space than it requires to tell 
it, all that mirth is changed to mourning, the music to wail- 
ing ; and instead of the gladsomeness that but now was 
universal there, is nought but horror and dismay, the 



shrieks and agonies^ and wild despair of wives and children 
bereaved forever of their earthly stay. 1 cannot^ I would 
not if I could, picture to you that heart-rending scene, as 
we have had it from the lips of those who beheld it, them- 
selves snatched by scarcely less than a miracle from the 
jaws of destruction. 

And yesterday — the same hall was decked again — but 
for a far different occasion. The same persons as at that 
festive scene it had so lately witnessed, were gathered 
there again, but ah ! how changed. Four of that gay 
throng are now extended mangled, and cold and stiff. — 
Their noble forms are wrapped in the habiliments of death, 
and upon them rests the sable pall or the Hag of their coun- 
try. And the rest, how bowed, and stricken do they seem. 
The only sounds that fill that lofty room, are the words of 
Holy Writ, the fervent prayer, the fervid exhortation, as 
God's ministers are performing the solemn funeral rites, 
and speaking in His name to the living. And then — the 
long procession winding its way to the spot where sleep 
the nation's mighty dead, the dirge-like music and the 
muffled drum, the tolling bells and pealing minute-guns, 
telling of the universal sorrow, — and this is all of their hon- 
ors and their greatness. " How are the mighty fallen, how 
are the weapons of war perished." 

And is there not in all this a most solemn admonition to 
the gay .'' Is there not in it a severe and startling rebuke to the 
lovers of pleasure and of power. ^ Is there not in it a voice 
of fearful warning.'' We speak not now of it, as indicating 
any special sinfulness connected with the peculiar occasion 
when the event occurred. We speak of its apparent refer- 
ence to that entire course of life, of which this was but a part 
and the most innocent part. We regard it as a rebuke of 
that giddy and dissipated existence, that continued, fevered 
round and whirl of pleasure and excitement, which, alas ! 
too many lead around us, of which, alas ! we have seen so 
much this winter — a life whose maddening excitement has 
been increasing in its violence, even with accelerated ve- 
locity during this sacred season, as if in defiance of the fre- 
quent calls to prayer and self-abasement, which have been 
echoing in their ear. Oh, it is such a continued, such an 
utter forgetfulness of God ; it is a life so completely answer- 
ing the Apostle's declaration, that '- Whoso liveth in pleasure 



14 

is dead while she livcth/* — that we cannot but exclaim in 
view of this awful event, addressing ourselves to those who 
so eagerly plunge in its vortex, '• Except ye repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish.'' 

Yes I to all such it is a loud and emphatic call. To them 
God speaks in it the solemn words of our text, — '^' Be stilly 
and know^ that I am God.'' Cease this giddy round, cease 
this hot pursuit of trifles. Take time to reflect upon your 
condition and your prospects. Remember the God whom 
you have forgotten and neglected, whose Holiness you out- 
rage, whose goodness you abuse. Remember Him, as ever 
near you, yea I even when He is farthest from your 
thoughts — when amid the bewildering rush and excitement 
of your mad festivity, you have totally forgotten Him, He 
is there, above, around, forever near, with His piercing 
eye to mark, and His hand to scourge and punish. Be 
still, and think of death, which so soon and so surely will 
come to you. Think how rapidly time is fleeting away. 
Think of the dread Judgment so swiftly and so surely 
coming. And oh ! tell me, is such a life a lit preparation 
for death .'^ is it a fit preparation for judgment.? Are you 
ready for these inevitable events ."* Oh ! say, had you stood 
beside that instrument of death and been swept away by its 
fiery breath and iron shower, where had you been noiv? 
Who among you would wish thus to have been sum- 
moned.'' Repent then, oh, repent, and '^ Sin no more 
lest a worse thing come upon you." A worse thing! lor 
what must be the eternity to which such a life inevitably 
leads t 

" Oh yc gay dreamers of gay dreams ! 
How will yc weather an eternal night 
When such expedients fail V 

4. To those immediately concerned in this sad event, 
God hath spoken. They, "of all others, cannot, mcthinks, 
doubt that it is the voice of the Lord to them. To those 
whose loved and cherished friends are thus taken from 
them, it has been indeed a voice of terror and anguish. To 
them, perhaps, this dispensation comes wrapt in deepest 
gloom, and as they ponder it, it may l)e hard to tell where- 
fore they have been afflicted, still harder to realise that 
there may yet be mercy in the blow. The bleeding hearts, 
crushed and stunned by the tremendous calamity, may be 
unable to hear anything'but wrath and severity in the tones 
which summoned the loved ones so suddenly away. 



15 

But oh ! could we reach them with our voice, how glad- 
ly would we endeavor to speak some little word of comfort. 
We would try to draw even from their calamity something 
to alleviate. We would tell them of our deep sympathy, 
the svmpathy of the whole community, if that has a balm for 
sorrow such as theirs. But above all would we bid them 
hear God, in this calamity, saying to them, " Be still, and 
know that I am Go(/." Yea ! God whose name is love. — 
God, wdio doth not v.illingiy grieve or afflict the children 
of men : — God, who chasteneth whom He loveth, and 
scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. It is He who 
hath done this. And when He thus afflicts. He draws nigh 
in the fulness of his power and willingness to bless. He 
will brins: ffood out of all this evil. He will heal the wound 
He has inflicted. He is able to supply the vacancy Himselt 
hath created. He will be a father to the fatherless, and a 
husband to the w^idow. Turn, then, unto Him, lay your 
bleeding and groaning hearts at His feet, and He \vill pour 
upon you the balm of His precious consolations. He will 
make this affliction ^Svork out for you a far more exceed- 
ing and eternal weight of glory." 

But there was mercy, much mercy mingled wqth this 
dread calamity. Of those who were most curious and ea- 
ger to witness the experiments which terminated so fatally, 
several, by apparently the merest accident, were prevented 
from being present. Of those who were on board, a much 
smaller number were exposed to danger at the time of the 
catastrophe than at any previous firing. Of those who ap- 
proached it, several, just before the gun M^as discharged, 
were by apparent trifles induced to step out of the range of 
its fragments. Of these, if we are not misinformed, were 
the President, the Secretary of War, and one of our own con- 
gregation. Several who stood near, though stunned, pros- 
trated, or otherwise affected by the concussion, escaped 
without serious injury. 

To these God hath spoken. To these He has addressed 
a message peculiarly touching and impressive. Ye " have 
heard of Him with the hearing of the ear, but now your eyes 
have seen Him." You have seen Him in His power and 
terribleness, and know what desolation He maketh among 
the children of men. You have seen the fearfulness of His 
might, the dreadfulness of Plis judgments. The terrors of 
the Lord have been vividly before you. Yet in the midst of 



y 

16 

all He spareil you. lie covered you with a shield, and kept 
the missiles of death from you, that they touched you not. 
Oh ! how great was His mercy towards you. How rich and 
how special His goodness to you I How deep and how spe- 
cial the gratitude it demands. '• Lord, what wilt Thou have 
me to do ? " " What shall I render unto the Lord for all 
His benefits to me.^ '' ^* The grave cannot praise thee, the 
dead cannot celebrate thee : they that go down into the pit 
cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living shall 
praise Thee : the father to the children shall make known 
Thy truth.'' 

5. Finally, brethren beloved, this event is the voice of 
the Lord to us. It has a solemn admonition to us, follow- 
ers of the Lord Jesus. It is an admonition directly in ac- 
cordance with the tendency of our Lenten services, and the 
solemn rite we are about to celebrate. It is a rebuke to 
our worldly-mindedness, our longing after worldly pleasures 
and worldly honors. It bids us behold their emptiness and 
worthlessness. It asks, are these the things for which our 
hearts are tempted to turn back from religion's straight and 
narrow way 't Are these the things for which we would 
sometimes forget our God, and prove false to our Saviour.^ 
Shall we be tempted hereafter, to barter for such misera- 
ble things, which so perish in the using, the peace of God 
which passeth all understanding, the love of Christ which 
passeth knowledge, the joy and communion of the Holy 
Ghost .^ No, brethren, no ; let us learn the lesson. We 
are strangers and pilgrims here, we have no continuing 
city, or abiding place. Nought here can satisfy us. Let 
us lift up our hearts above this miserable world. Let us 
at once "set our affections on things above, where Christ 
sitteth at the right hand of God.-' Let us thirst only for 
the pleasures that are Ibrevermnre in his presence. Let us 
seek in sweet communion with Him, the jovs which alone 
His flivor gives. And remember that in Him, His love, 
His service, we have higher, holier, purer joys than the 
world has ever known. And warned by this event to be 
ready for the coming of the Lord. Let us '^give all dili- 
gence " to be " found of Him in peace." Let us be " stead- 
fast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the 
Lord, for as much as we know that our labor is not in vain 
in the Lord." And may God add his blessing for Christ's 
sake — Amen. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



011 895 571 7 



■■, -ta 



•^m 





